Lord Vader, Your Car Is Ready: Help Find a Long-Lost Star Wars Celica

Who knew: Darth Vader never drove a Chevy Impala SS, or a Buick GNX, or any other tawdry vehicle that the “Lord Vader, your ride is ready” cliché would have applied to. Turns out, his personal star destroyer would have been the 1977 Toyota Celica Liftback—and if you can find it out there, somewhere in a galaxy far, far away, you’ll be doing your part for the Galactic Empire.Created with the taste and style only the 1970s could offer, the modified Celica featured the best airbrushing this side of the 3rd Annual Las Vegas Custom Vannin’ Convention behind the Shoney’s. The iconic poster was painstakingly recreated on the Celica’s hood, along with 1970s de rigueur fender flares, slotted chrome wheels, and a blonde babe with Farah Fawcett hair posing with it.Customized by Delphi Auto Design in Costa Mesa, CA, the Celica was given away by a San Diego dealership as part of 1977’s "Space Fantasy Sweepstakes.” Both Toyota and FOX worked on the promotion together, which also included the giveaway of t-shirts, posters, soundtrack records, and a trip to that wretched hive of scum and villainy known as Club Med. But the Celica was the grand prize, and a true one-of-a-kind from the biggest movie of 1977 (as well as today).Through the fog of time, the Celia was lost, presumably in a Wampa cave. The VIN was never recorded and whoever the eventual winner was, he must have long since drowned in a cloud of Acapulco Gold, chain steering wheels, and Jefferson Starship 8-tracks. After the auction of the wildly popular but far less kitschy 2012 Volkswagen Passat from the Star Wars commercial, the Official Star Wars Blog is now looking for the Star Wars Celica, and is asking for your help. While it has presumably rusted away into a pile of sandcrawler scraps, there’s still a chance it might be out there, roaming the streets of Torrance or Tatooine. Remember, she may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.Source: Hemmings

New Car Price QuoteFind the best car prices using our free quote tool.